Quirky App Of The Day: Guy Fawkes Camera

Remember, remember! The fifth of November,
The Gunpowder treason and plot;
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!

Happy November 5, to my friends across the ocean. In commemoration of the gun powder treason, I’m reviewing the Guy Fawkes Camera. What’s so important about today? Well, I’m so glad you asked that, because I happen to know something about another culture for once. After reading enough books about the British monarchy to make my literature teachers jealous, I’m pretty familiar with this subject. So, sit back for a little bit of history and culture from me. It doesn’t happen too often.

Once upon a time, a man named Guy Fawkes and a few of his buddies thought it would be a good idea to blow up Parliament while it was in session with the king inside. Pretty audacious, huh? In 1605, armed with kegs of gunpowder, the plotters planted their wares in the Parliament cellars. However, since Parliament is still standing and King James lived for another 20 years, it obviously didn’t work. The king received a tip about the gunpowder and ordered the cellars to be searched. Fawkes was caught leaving the cellar around midnight and was arrested. He and three others faced the ultimate price for treason. After being tortured in the Tower of London, they were walked to a scaffold where they would be hanged, drawn, quartered and a lot of other nasty things that don’t belong in this post. However, the morbidly curious can read about it here. After seeing what happened to his friends, Guy Fawkes managed to jump from the scaffold while being hung, and he broke his neck before the rest of his sentence could be carried out. Believe me, it was the better way to go. Still today, Guy Fawkes Day is celebrated with bonfires, fireworks and burning effigies.

Pretty cool holiday for almost getting the entire government blown to smithereens, right? The movie V For Vendetta features a hero donning a Guy Fawkes mask while he fights against a corrupt future government. Hence, the Guy Fawkes masks in the app. See? It all comes together. Guy Fawkes Camera lets you select and drag a mask over the faces in your picture. Once you’ve taken your picture, you can post it to Facebook or send it in an email. So, have some fun this November 5.